My morning run on the playa is an homage to my RTO team, the Tater Trots. Running barefoot on this white expanse isn’t as comfy as one might hope, but not bad either. It ranges from smooth and hard to gravelly and sharp.

Like last year I spend half a day doing “vertical mulch” rehabilitation on old road tracks through a wilderness area. The idea isn’t to erase the track instantly, but to get it reseeded with local vegetation and discourage further incursions. It takes a long time, but a few hours work by ten volunteers does make…

For our memorial day weekend we join the Friends of Nevada Wilderness at the Black Rock Rendezvous. We enjoyed our spring monitoring trip so much last weekend that we ask for another assignment. Renee joins us to look for some springs high up in Petrified canyon. Our first challenge is to park our camper along…

This run felt harder and slower than the one this morning, but I was actually faster. Probably because I wore the Vibrams. I did the same run backwards, but I did not arrive home in pre-run condition as hoped. Must have been the little course deviations I made near the bridge. I can tell that…

I’m going to try two runs today to see how my body handles it. The first felt good. I ran barefoot and tried to keep my speed up, but not going for broke.

“Spring Monitoring” really doesn’t conjure up the adventurous nature of what Ann and I do this weekend. The objective sounds simple: visit locations where a spring is suspected to exist and gather data about it. The practice draws on many of our favorite skills and activities. We start with an evening drive to the Black…

Interesting – today’s run is not too different from the last one, but felt harder! I was tightening up and slowing down at the end. I changed a few things: I choose a slightly longer route today, but still short of 11 miles. The oxbow ditch was full, so I soaked my feet at about…

I don’t publish most of my run logs, but I’m going to share a few as I try to ramp up for the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey on June 1. I’ve been making progress already over past few weeks, so I’m hoping I’ll be in good shape for my 3-leg share that should total 15-18 miles. Today…

Our final family getaway outing takes us to Sugar Pine State Park. The first feature you encounter here is the preserved Hellman-Ehrmann mansion guest house, completed in 1903. Hellman-Ehrman Mansion The park also bears the name of Ed Z’berg, a California legislator and nature advocate. We explore a little of the local nature, finding giant…